The intersection of hospitality and technology is evolving at a rapid pace. To keep a pulse on these trends, Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine launched the MRM #RestaurantTech column. To submit items, contact MRM Executive Editor Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.

Glance Debuts New Table Ordering Functions

Glance Technologies Inc. introduced its new table ordering capabilities which allow consumers to prepay and order food & drinks directly from their table in restaurants via the Glance Pay app.

“Now with our complete set of features, Glance Pay is positioned to disrupt the restaurant industry as significantly as Uber disrupted the taxi and limousine industry,” says Desmond Griffin, Glance’s CEO.

Glance Pay will provide restaurant customers with one app that allows them to securely and conveniently:

order and pay for delivery

pre-order & pay for pickup / takeout

order from their table

pay for their meal when they are ready to leave

Glance’s mobile order-ahead app was designed to let any restaurant or business can offer their customers more than just an in-store experience by tapping into the popularity of pre-ordering with digital expediency and security in mind. People already have the latest technology, their mobile phone, with them, which allows Glance to provide an ordering experience at any restaurant without restaurants having to create an entire mobile application of their own. As Glance continues to scale and expand its innovative technology throughout the restaurant industry, users can continue to benefit from great rewards, automatic digital receipt tracking, and exclusive promotions.

“We are very excited to partner with RRT. The takeout solutions they provide will greatly augment our takeout business – which is a key factor in growing our brand,” said Gary Morrow, CEO of Marmalade Cafe. “Our technology plans call for teaming up with innovative and agile partners such as RRT to enhance the overall guest experience for Marmalade Cafe guests.”

Additionally, RRT recently announced a banner year of growth in 2016 with its client base now including notable brands as The Habit Burger Grill, Café Rio, BJ’s Restaurants, Modern Market, Mooyah Burgers, ZPizza, Kneaders, Kona Grill, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Polly’s Pies and Urbane Café, to name a few. The San Diego based technology and services company also expanded their core services and solutions offerings to include innovative Customer Loyalty, Catering and Outbound Business Development programs.

“All of us at RRT are thrilled to be partnering with Marmalade Cafe in helping them to significantly enhance the service provided to their takeout guests through our online and mobile applications,” said David Schofield, CEO at RRT. “The Marmalade Cafe chain is an exciting, contemporary brand with a strong commitment to providing high quality food through healthy ingredients in a sustainable environment. They are clearly at the forefront of innovation and originality within the industry. Our unique and modern solutions and services will compliment and bolster their overall business model. We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship with Marmalade Cafe.”

SICOM Acquires RTI

SICOM Systems, Inc., a provider of end-to-end solutions for quick service and fast casual restaurants, acquired RTI, a technology provider for quick service and fast casual restaurants. RTI’s founders were multi-unit franchisees before starting the company in 1985 and built the business based on their real-life experience in the industry. They grew the company consistently through the years today serving more than 10,000 restaurants for major brands including McDonald’s, Arby’s, Checkers, Popeyes, Wendy’s, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Burger King, Brass Tap, Church’s Chicken, among others. RTI offers RTIconnect, RTIoffice and RTI Payroll solutions helping multi-unit franchises improve operational efficiencies and increase profitability.

“This is a very strategic acquisition for SICOM as we focus on expanding and strengthening the solutions we provide to the quick service and fast casual restaurant industry,” said Jim Flynn, CEO of SICOM. “Like SICOM, RTI has a high level of dedication and desire to help franchisees and brands increase their profitability and efficiency through the application of leading edge technology products. We welcome RTI to the SICOM family. With the industry-specific experience of its founders and employees, RTI has earned a sterling reputation among its customers. It is a growing company with a breadth of customers that will enable us to penetrate new brands with our end-to-end technologies and expand into new markets.”

“For more than three decades, we have been delivering restaurant software solutions and are excited to transition into this next stage of the company by joining the team at SICOM and helping empower our customers to maximize the efficiency and profitability of their operations,” said Jim Clutter, CEO of RTI. “SICOM has a similar culture to RTI’s and its team is very likeminded in its dedication to innovation and commitment to a high-level of customer service. We look forward to the opportunities this combination has for our customers, employees and the industry.”

The combined new company will serve more than 25,000 restaurants globally in over 38 countries.

Olo Partners with Red Robin and Debuts Enhanced Nutritional Tools

Olo, a provider of online and mobile ordering capabilities, partnered with Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews, to power the launch and ongoing integration of the casual dining restaurant chain’s digital ordering platform at its restaurants nationwide. Additionally, Olo is helping restaurant clients navigate new federal and local menu labeling requirements with new nutrition tools and support across its platform. Through Olo’s digital ordering platform, restaurant brands are now able to implement federal guidelines on ecommerce sites and mobile apps.

“We are proud to partner with Red Robin, a brand that is committed to enhancing the overall guest experience, and we believe this digital ordering rollout is a powerful development in the beloved gourmet burger chain’s drive to best serve its guests.” said Noah Glass, Founder & CEO of Olo. “We look forward to providing Red Robin’s loyal guests with the convenience of pay ahead online ordering and restaurant pickup at its restaurants nationwide.”

Olo’s online ordering technology is now accessible through Red Robin’s website, which provides guests with the convenience of ahead-of-time order placements, pre-payment and restaurant pickup of their favorite gourmet burgers and Bottomless Steak Fries®. The digital ordering platform also integrates seamlessly with the Red Robin Royalty™ program, which allows Red Robin guests to earn rewards simply by ordering their favorite menu items.

“Red Robin is focused on providing the highest quality food, service and experience to our guests, whether they choose to dine with us in-restaurant or take it to-go,” said Jason Rusk, Vice President Alternate Platforms. “Burgers are highly searched online and through our partnership with Olo, Red Robin can expand our Gourmet Burger Authority by satisfying the tastes, wants and needs of guests across the country at their convenience.”

Nutritional tools in the new feature set include:

Calorie Labeling – Ability to add calories in order to comply with new menu labeling requirements put forth by the Food and Drug Administration. Calorie amounts, ranges, and supplements for menu item additions are supported.

Disclaimers – Ability to add both generic and FDA-specific disclaimers, also known as succinct statements and additional statements.

Sodium Labeling – Ability to add sodium icons for items that are required to show items over 2300 mg in salt, as required in NYC.

Existing clients received access to Calorie, Disclaimer and Sodium tools earlier this month for implementation on their Olo-branded front ends or through a design partner for brands utilizing Olo’s API. Since menu labeling requirements often vary by location and menu, Olo’s platform supports configuration by location, with a tool to make changes to numerous locations at once or make changes across the entire brand.

Restaurant brands are currently conducting their own independent reviews of FDA menu labeling and calories, which impacts establishments with over 20 locations, ahead of the May 5 deadline.Current Olo clients can get training materials, user guides, and more information here.

ULI Launches Mobile and Online Ordering Service

ULI, an Asian restaurant in London’s Notting Hill, launched its online and mobile pre-ordering facility for collection and delivery. ULI guess will now have the convenience of ordering dishes for takeaway through the ULI app, available on Google Play and the App Store, as well as its website.

ULI

In addition to a collection service, the food will be available for delivery throughout Notting Hill and up to 2.5 miles from the restaurant. As part of the implementation, Preoday has integrated its pre-ordering technology with ULI’s existing EPOS provider TISSL to facilitate transactions.

Graham Rebak, MD, ULI commented, “Offering our customers the ability to order through our app will help them choose dishes on the go while still getting the fresh, high quality, Asian food we have been serving since 1997. We were particularly pleased that Preoday’s technology could be integrated with our existing EPOS provider.”

Andrew White, CEO, Preoday, said, “Helping ULI take the next step, from phone-based takeaway, to mobile and online ordering has meant that its customers can order through the channel most convenient to them. For ULI, the data provided by the new solution will give it a vastly improved understanding of its customers.” Preoday provides an e-commerce platform offering mobile and online ordering services.

QikServe appoints Don DeMarinis as Chief Commercial Officer

QikServe, the multichannel ordering and payment specialist, appointed Don DeMarinis as its Chief Commercial Officer. DeMarinis assumes responsibility for QikServe’s global business development activities, and will support a major sales growth and recruitment drive in the United States.

Don DeMarinis

DeMarinis has more than 30 years’ executive experience in the sector, the majority of which has been spent helping hospitality operators better invest in and utilize technology. Bringing a wealth of experience in engaging and delivering digital solutions for enterprise customers, he joins QikServe from technology startup, Dovetail Solutions, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer. At Dovetail Solutions, he developed their sales strategy to bring Dovetail’s “Gusto” point of sale platform to the US market. Prior to Dovetail, DeMarinis worked at technology giant Oracle, where he was vice president responsible for Oracle Hospitality’s global sports, entertainment and foodservice management business.

In 2014, Oracle acquired MICROS Systems where DeMarinis was vice president of the leisure and entertainment business unit. He held full responsibility for the POS firm’s food and beverage relationships in the sports and entertainment, hotel, casino, and cruise verticals in North America. At MICROS, DeMarinis grew top line revenue from $37M in 2012 to more than $60M in 2015.

This latest appointment follows QikServe’s £2.7 million (US$3.4 million) funding round in January, which was primarily intended to support U.S. sales growth of its platform that enables restaurant customers to order and pay for food and drinks from a smartphone, tablet or self-service terminal. One of DeMarinis’s key early goals will to build out the company’s U.S. sales force in support of its growth objectives.

“We are delighted to welcome Don to the QikServe team and are looking forward to working together to build a hugely successful global business,” said Daniel Rodgers, CEO, QikServe. “He will use his knowledge and experience to build a world-class sales team that will deliver key U.S. sales growth and help hospitality operators transform the way they do business.”

“I have witnessed several game-changing advances in hospitality technology over the years, but nothing as significant as the move towards mobility and self-service, which is not simply an evolution in technology, it is a shift in how operators engage with their customers,” said Don DeMarinis, CCO, QikServe. “QikServe is uniquely positioned to be the dominant player in the global marketplace for self-service and mobile solutions, with a solid product strategy, supported by a talented and passionate team that I am thrilled to join. The ‘point of sale’ is increasingly at customers’ finger tips and I’m joining QikServe to become an influential part of that evolution.”

Cayan Announces New Partnership with Aldelo

Cayan, a payment technology company, announced a new strategic partnership with Aldelo, a provider of POS software for the hospitality industry. With this integration, Aldelo is now EMV certified with Cayan, enhancing the partnership and presenting new opportunities for Aldelo’s resellers. Aldelo provides an easy-to-use restaurant POS solution and has over 120,000 installations around the world.

The software company’s partnership with Cayan will bring Aldelo’s network of 400+ dealers more opportunities to provide their merchants with Cayan’s powerful payment solution, Genius®. In turn, by enabling Aldelo’s resellers to sell Genius Countertop and Genius Handheld, Cayan will effectively expand its portfolio of quick-service, casual and fine-dining restaurants.

“Integrating with Aldelo is a mutually beneficial partnership, as it’s providing an opportunity for us to gain a strong foothold in the hospitality industry,” said Ken Paull, CRO of Cayan. “Simultaneously, Aldelo’s integration with the Genius Platform sets their resellers and restaurant customers up for success now and in the future, allowing one-swipe bar tabs and EMV capabilities.”

Given the levels of credit card fraud rapidly increasing in industry areas where EMV adoption has been slow, Aldelo’s integration with Cayan’s payment technology will better protect restaurants’ businesses, while allowing their customers to pay with chip cards and the most popular NFC and QRC schemes emerging, such as Apple Pay. Additionally, Cayan offers industry leading EMV processing times, completing transactions in under 4 seconds. Since Aldelo focuses on various restaurant types, improved EMV transactions result in faster moving lines at QSR’s while also leading to faster table turnover at fine-dining restaurant establishments.

Aldelo resellers can quickly and easily get their customers set up with Genius and take advantage of its ability to:

Future-proof the payment process, allowing customers to stay on top of industry changes

“The Aldelo interface to the Genius platform from Cayan takes advantage of some truly advanced technology between the companies,” said Harry Tu, President of Aldelo. “This advanced EMV technology allows us to maintain our industry leading feature set along with secure payment processing for our customers.”

Mitsubishi Electric Adds SelFone™ Wireless Print Station

Customer retention and patron loyalty are some of the major challenges in marketing of restaurants and bars. What new things can restaurant and bar owners offer to increase these marketing metrics and improve return rate of customers without breaking the bank or using up too much additional resources?

That is what Mitsubishi Electric have in mind when the new SelFone™ Wireless Print Station, top photo, was developed. It is a self-contained printer system that works as a marketing tool using someone’s mobile phone. It allows quick and easy printing of photos directly from most recent versions of iPhone® or Android™ smart phones. The main idea of having the SelFone Wireless Print Station in a restaurant is a throwback to those days when a visit to a restaurant can be made more memorable with a photo. But this is unique because the SelFone Wireless Print Station enables restaurant or bar owners and event organizers to help customers create that experience without requiring any photographic expertise or expensive camera equipment. The concept is to simply offer a photo printing station that lets customers print their own selfies, and the restaurant or bar owner includes a coupon detailing a marketing and/or promotional message attached to the printed photo. It is very common for restaurant and bar customers to celebrate various occasions in these venues and take pictures there with their mobile phones. Wouldn’t it be fun for them to be able to print and share these photos right then and there, while the restaurant uses the printed photo as a channel for a marketing message?

SevenRooms Introduces Book Widget

SevenRooms offers a white label booking widget that enables restaurants to offer reservations and unique dining experiences, available via any website. All data collected through the widget is the restaurant’s to own, allowing restaurants to reclaim guest ownership and drive additional revenue through highly-targeted marketing. Features include:

Verifi Launches Order Insight

Verifi , Inc., a provider of payment and risk management solutions for card-not-present (CNP) merchants, launched Order Insight, an advanced collaboration platform that enables robust order details to be shared in real time between cardholders, merchants and issuers, Order Insights enables issuing banks and cardholders to determine the legitimacy of a sale at the time a billing inquiry or dispute arises, thereby reducing fraudulent claims and unnecessary chargebacks as well as avoiding loss of sales and profits.

Today, up to 86 percent of cardholders bypass the merchant and contact their issuing bank directly to dispute or question a charge on their bill. Disputes can often occur for a variety of reasons ranging from the cardholder simply being confused over unclear or incomplete billing descriptors to legitimate instances of criminal fraud. Many however, have become accustomed to using the dispute process as a refunding tool resulting from buyer’s remorse or those seeking to “game the system” through first party or “friendly fraud.” According to industry research firm, Aite Group, 60 to 70 percent of chargebacks are the result of first party or “friendly fraud.”

Lacking the information or purchase details needed to legitimize a sale, the most common option for the issuing bank is to credit the cardholder and issue a chargeback. Merchants lose valid sales and profits to significant and unnecessary chargeback fees and drained resources. In the worst cases, the cardholder abandons the brand altogether while issuers are challenged to provide the best customer experience. Issuers incur added operational and representment costs as merchants dispute valid sales lost to unwarranted chargebacks. Customers ultimately see the result of all of this in higher prices. It’s a multi-billion-dollar global problem that affects everyone.

Integrated with top issuers, Order Insight’s patent pending platform provides robust transaction details including the merchant’s name and contact information, date of purchase, name of device used in the order process and item or service descriptions (size, color, style). Order Insights can integrate this data directly into the issuing bank’s online or mobile applications. In most cases having access to this data can resolve a questionable charge and avoid a phone call to the issuer, saving the sale as well as wasted time, resources and costs for all parties that would occur through the dispute representment process.

When a cardholder elects to call the issuing bank, Order Insights equips the bank’s call center representatives with the compelling evidence they need to identify true instances of fraud, flag unethical cardholders looking to game the system or resolve the confusion created by vague billing descriptors before the matter escalates into costly chargebacks and resulting losses.

For those disputes that are not addressed upfront, Order Insight facilitates the efficient resolution of the dispute between the merchant and the issuer to stop it from escalating to an expensive chargeback.

“Fraud and chargebacks continue to be a major issue for merchants and will continue to grow as shoppers migrate more of their shopping to online and mobile commerce”, said Matthew Katz, CEO of Verifi. As payments continue to change and expand, we remain committed to being a disruptive market leader driving real innovation for the broader industry. Our award-winning, Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network (“CDRN”) was created to and continues to help merchants and issuers promptly resolve true cardholder initiated disputes at their origin, stopping them from becoming chargebacks and incurring all the added costs and pain that goes along with them.”

“Order Insight is the next phase of our services evolution where all parties are connected to work together for mutual benefit. Merchants retain their legitimate, hard-earned sales upfront while avoiding profits lost to chargebacks and resource drain on the back end. Issuers provide a better customer experience for their cardholders, help lower instances of “friendly fraud” and reduce operational expenses by focusing on true fraud risks. Cardholders gain better information and clarity into their purchase details and avoid frustrating back-and-forth to obtain recourse for a sale they may have legitimately made. “

Guest Innovations Releases Rezku POS

Guest Innovations, a restaurant technology company out of Sacramento, released Rezku POS, a full-featured iPad-based cost-effective restaurant point of sale solution.

“We have done so much to help restaurants keep more money in their pockets,” said Paul Katsch, CEO of Guest Innovations. “Some POS companies out there will say they can accept any credit card processor but restaurant owners later find out it is at a cost. Some companies will tack on expensive per transaction gateway fees that end up costing the restaurant thousands of dollars. Restauranteurs need to be aware of this before they buy a new POS system,” Mr. Katsch continued. “Oftentimes a restaurant owner will sign a contract for a new POS system and be surprised at the additional fees after they have committed.”

The Rezku POS System has no per transaction gateway fees and every restaurant is guaranteed the lowest integrated processing rates. “We want to be upfront with our restaurant partners. We are here to help them,” Mr. Katsch elaborated. The Rezku POS System has an advanced off-line mode that allows you to use the cloud-based system even when the internet goes out – all of the terminals within the restaurant will continue to talk to each other. In addition, you can still accept credit card payment through the system while in off-line mode. When the internet connection fails the system automatically stores encrypted credit card information that is instantly processed when the internet connection is reestablished. This store and forward technology is both EMV and PCI compliant, lowering the restaurant’s fraud liability.

Lighthouse Café Selects NorthStar

The Lighthouse Bayview Café in Newport Beach, Calif., today converted to Custom Business Solutions’ NorthStar Order Entry as its exclusive Point of Sale solution.

The celebrated harbor-front restaurant serves guests in its replica lighthouse dining room, an outdoor and upstairs patio, and through a walk-up window for beach visitors. Lighthouse Bayview Café servers will use a combination of handheld tablets and traditional point-of-sale terminals to manage orders and payments while increasing kitchen efficiencies. NorthStar’s intuitive and easy-to-use workflow system made training and implementation quick and efficient for Lighthouse staff.

Custom Business Solutions (CBS) developed NorthStar Order Entry, the hospitality industry’s first omnichannel, cloud-based POS system, to deliver better data visibility and improved restaurant management through a robust point-of-sale system. NorthStar is being used by numerous brands across the U.S. in traditional, hand-held and tabletop ordering scenarios.

For Lighthouse Bayview Café, the NorthStar point of sale system also provides integrations with Ctuit restaurant management software, HotSchedules and Paytronix gift card system.

“The cloud-based system provides real time information and remote visibility of restaurant operations, allowing us to streamline our kitchen operations. This high level of visibility let’s us problem solve in real time and better serve our guests,” said James Elliott, Director of IT for Lighthouse Bayview Café. “NorthStar provides a quality point of sale solution that works right out of the box. It’s clear that this system was created by people who understand restaurants.”

“NorthStar delivers a quality solution that helps businesses of any size operate smoothly and more efficiently,” said Art Julian, founder and CEO of CBS. “We look forward to supporting Lighthouse Bayview Café as the restaurant continues to grow.”

7shifts teams with Toast

7shifts announced an app integration with Toast to provide continued efficiencies in restaurant operations management. The new integration aims to largely reduce restaurant labor costs by streamlining employee clock-ins and schedule enforcement.

Toast is an all-in-one restaurant technology point of sale (POS) solution, while 7shifts is a employee scheduling and labor management app designed specifically for restaurants. The new integration will aid in ensuing fair shift compensation, ease of time tracking, and variance reporting. It will also boost adherence to shift schedules by disabling the ability of staff to clock in prior to or beyond their scheduled shifts, saving establishments money and headaches.

“Our commitment to integrated restaurant technology is mirrored in Toast’s philosophy,” said Jordan Boesch, founder and CEO of 7shifts. “As we continue to innovate, our goal is to team with forward-thinking partners like Toast, and we believe that together, we’re able to offer an optimal solution to the hospitality market.”

7shifts is the most intuitive employee scheduling and management app for the restaurant industry. Managers of single or multi-location restaurants use 7shifts to reduce the time it takes to do schedule staff from several hours down to just a few minutes each month. The app also helps food service managers reduce labor costs with more effective shift strategies and streamline communications with their workforce.

How the integrated solution works:

When an employee clocks in/out through Toast, the shift is cross-referenced with the schedule in 7shifts, preventing an employee from punching in unscheduled shifts, and eliminating unbudgeted overtime and unbalanced staffing. When new employees are added to either platform, they will be automatically synced between the two.

“Toast’s best-in-class API partner program empowers our customers to achieve true restaurant success by streamlining operations and growing revenue, said Chris Comparato, CEO of Toast. “7shifts is a true partner in helping us amplify this vision for our customers.”

Toast offers advanced functionality to manage the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, including quick menu modifications, real-time enterprise reporting and labor management on an easy-to-use interface. The platform also features revenue-driving tools including physical and digital gift cards, loyalty programs and online ordering.

EnterWorks Expands 1WorldSync Partnership

EnterWorks, a software provider for master data management (MDM) and product information management (PIM) solutions, expanded its partnership with 1WorldSync. The expansion will include new clients, joint selling and expanded go-to market collaboration. EnterWorks had previously announced its certification on MjR3 by 1WorldSync, a certification that expanded functionality for EnterWorks customers already connected to GDSN and offered new users the most advanced bi-directional data publishing and synchronization tools available.

“The 1WorldSync partnership enhanced our customers’ and global trading partners’ access to richer, trusted product information; at the same time, it complemented 1WorldSync’s capabilities with our best in class PIM capabilities for managing both GDSN and non-GDSN products,” said Rick Chavie, CEO at EnterWorks. “The MjR3 certification and collaborative end-to-end offering is being brought to bear on a number of domestic and global opportunities, particularly in food and consumer product verticals.”

Compelling, trusted product information that is consistent across channels is key for retailers, manufacturers and distributors as a shared asset that enables delivery of the content that customers demand in today’s digitally enabled markets. The combination of PIM and MDM solutions with content repositories and solutions as managed by 1WorldSync positions companies to compete with standardized and unstructured content across e-commerce Web, mobile, print and in-store channels.

“We are excited about the success of our expanded partnership,” explained Dan Wilkinson, chief commercial officer at 1WorldSync. “Since the certification, our collaboration has been accelerated, enabling our teams to solidify a competitive strategy, sign joint clients and increase market penetration. We look forward to continuing on this significant path of growth with EnterWorks.”

Benefits offered to customers as a result of the partnership include:

A joint solution managing content within and across enterprises in vertical markets

Global reach with local resources to implement the best in class product platform

Dynamic data modeling that enables EnterWorks to rapidly implement customer-centric data models and hierarchy and adjust on the fly as their businesses evolve in this digital age

Flexible Content for Commerce extension into a number of ecommerce platforms to take advantage of growth in both B2B and B2C ecommerce markets

Camm & Hooper Launches Mobile and Online Ordering at London Venues

London events and hospitality business Camm & Hooper launched its mobile and online ordering service for customers, powered by Preoday, providing users with convenient services and exclusive packages at four of the group’s popular venues across London.

The app is available to download from the App Store and Google Play and covers the Tanner & Co. restaurant, bar and event space on Bermondsey Street, the grand Banking Hall events venue in the City of London, the Victorian Bath House and the new Soho hotspot Six Storeys. Customers can also order online from each of the venue websites.

Users will be able to take advantage of a variety of services at the different venues including: pre-ordering food for collection and ordering for the table for delivery. Nearby office workers will be able to order food and drink for delivery directly to their desk for lunch, or even to their picnic location in Soho Square when ordering from Six Storeys. The app has also embedded the Design My Night service so that customers can reserve their table as well. In addition to mobile and online ordering, the service will feature an exclusive selection of vouchers and experiences.

Andrew White, CEO of Preoday, said, “It’s a pleasure to be working with Camm & Hooper’s celebrated venues and helping them offer their customers such a variety of services. Our flexible platform means that we can offer delivery and collection of food and drink, as well as vouchers, across multiple venues, and all in one app and online platform.”

Darren Hart, Director of Sales at Camm & Hooper, said, “We pride ourselves on providing unique experiences to our customers and innovating in how we use technology to deliver the services. The app transcends all customer types from corporate event clients wanting to pre-order drinks during an awards dinner to private consumers wanting to the ability to click and collect from our menu or have their choose brought to their office or even the park.”

Subway® Guests can order with bot for Messenger

Subway® restaurants launched a bot for Facebook Messenger today that allows guests to order sandwiches and salads from more than 26,500 Subway® restaurants in the U.S. The first-of-its-kind sandwich ordering bot was announced at the F8 Facebook Developer Conference with Agilitee, one of Subway’s digital partners. Guests can use the bot to order a sandwich or salad, customize it with their favorite bread; cheese; vegetables; and sauce, and pay on any device that supports Messenger. The bot for Messenger is the latest addition to the brand’s mobile order systems that includes web ordering and app ordering.

To use the bot: launch the Messenger app, visit Messenger.com or visit Facebook.com/subway and tap ‘Start Order.’ The bot will ask for the user’s location to find the closest Subway® restaurant. Then, the user is guided through selecting the sub bread, cheese, vegetables and sauce, as well as drinks, cookies or chips. Users choose their payment method: Facebook’s payment system or Masterpass, a digital payment service from Mastercard, and the order will be ready for pick up in 15 minutes or less.

“Our bot for Messenger was just deployed in more than 26,500 U.S. Subway® restaurants- the largest deployments of a Messenger bot in the restaurant industry. We’re proud to offer our guests an innovative new way to order and pay outside the restaurants,” said Carman Wenkoff, Subway’s Chief Information, and Digital Officer. “This is a new initiative in the on-going quest to enhance the guest experience.”

“We’re excited that Subway® is expanding their mobile order capabilities with a bot,” said Stan Chudnovsky, Vice President of Product for Messenger. “It’s a simple way to order food, and available to anyone who already has Messenger.”

The Subway® Digital team is innovating the brand’s digital properties, enhancing the guest experience with a comprehensive global strategy. Subway® Digital, created in 2016, is hiring more than 150 people for jobs supporting the brand’s omnichannel approach.

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